小青 (xiǎo qīng) — (botany) indigo plant (Indigofera tinctoria); (name) Xiaoqing, a common name for a young female servant or maid in traditional stories

Definition

A traditional term with two distinct senses: the indigo plant (Indigofera tinctoria) used for dyeing cloth, and the name Xiaoqing, famously the maid in the Legend of the White Snake.

noun
(botany) indigo plant (Indigofera tinctoria)(name) Xiaoqing, a common name for a young female servant or maid in traditional stories

Examples

  • 小青。
    Gǔ dài rén yòng xiǎo qīng lái rǎn bù.
    Ancient people used the indigo plant to dye cloth.
  • ，小青。
    Chuán shuō zhōng, bái shé de shì nǚ jiù jiào xiǎo qīng.
    In the legend, the white snake's maid is called Xiaoqing.
  • 小青。
    Zhè piàn tián lǐ zhǒng le hěn duō xiǎo qīng.
    This field is planted with a lot of indigo plants.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

小xiǎosmall
青qīnggreen

小 means small or young and 青 means green or blue; together a small green plant or a familiar name for a young maid.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 八八bāto divide; to separate
  • 丨丨gǔnsmall object

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

Open 小 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

An early form of 青 combined 生 and 井, both used for sound; the modern form has changed.

Open 青 →

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